Health IT Appointments and Hires 2014

Lynne Jones Named as New President of EDCO Health Information Solutions
EDCO® Health Information Solutions, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is pleased to announce the appointment of Lynne Jones to President of the nationwide healthcare software and services company. “Lynne Jones has played a key role in bringing together our functional teams, and focusing them on the development of our company. She has been pivotal in the creation of our brand’s high performance, and customer-centric culture,” said Bill Glassman, Chairman and CEO of EDCO Health Information Solutions.

iSALUS Healthcare Announces New Chief Sales Officer to Executive Leadership Team
iSALUS Healthcare, a privately held Electronic Health Records (EHR), Practice Management, and Medical Billing service provider, announces a new appointment to its management team. Jason McDonald comes to iSALUS from Kareo, where he spent eight years as National Director of Sales, assisting business growth from 200 to 20,000 healthcare providers. McDonald draws upon 13 total years of experience in the healthcare field and will oversee all sales and marketing initiatives at iSALUS.

Encoda, LLC Announces New CEO with Appointment of Veteran Healthcare IT Executive Michael Kallish
Encoda, LLC announced that veteran healthcare IT executive Michael Kallish has joined the company as Chief Executive Officer. Kallish brings with him more than 25 years experience in leading health IT companies through rapid growth, product innovation, and industry-leading customer satisfaction. Company co-founder and former CEO William (Bill) Cox will assume the role of President and Chief Technology Officer. Since its founding in 2006, Encoda has established a loyal following of large medical groups and revenue cycle management outsourcing firms who rely on Encoda’s patented, cutting-edge technology to transform their organizations and help them gain leadership positions.

Dr. Margot Savoy Selected to Join ONC’s Elite HIT Fellows Program
Regional Extension Center (QIDE REC) is excited to announce that Dr. Margot Savoy, a physician with Christiana Care Health System Family Medical Centers, has been selected by the Office of the National Coordinator’s (ONC) Health IT Vanguard Program, to be a member of the Spring 2014 Health IT Fellow Class.

AHIMA Announces 2014 Board President/Chair, New Board Members
American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) members elected Angela Kennedy, EdD, MBA, RHIA, as President/Chair of the 2014 Board of Directors. Her official one-year term began Jan. 1, 2014. Dr. Kennedy has been serving in this role since June 29, 2013, following the passing of President/Chair Kathleen A. Frawley, JD, MS, RHIA, FAHIMA.

T-System Promotes Key Executives Mark Horner and Steve Armond
T-System Inc. announced the promotion of executives Mark Horner and Steve Armond to lead new solution lines and further position the organization for extensive growth. Horner, formerly the vice president of client services, will now serve as senior vice president and general manager of T-System’s RevCycle+™. He will lead the growth and operational success of the company’s revenue cycle solutions, including the physician billing operations based in Cerritos, Calif. and Williamsburg, Va., and the facility coding operations based in Kansas City, Mo. Prior to joining T-System in 2010, Horner held senior operations roles at Cerner Corporation and Sears Methodist Retirement System.

Armond, T-System’s chief financial officer, has taken on an expanded role leading the company’s documentation solutions including T-System’s EV™, T Sheets® and PerformNext™. Armond was most recently named the 2013 private technology company CFO of the Year by the Dallas Business Journal.

National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Expert Peggy Reineking Joins UCF Regional Extension Center as Patient Centered Medical Home Specialist
The UCF REC announced that Peggy Reineking will be joining the REC as a Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Specialist.

Reineking who served as the Director of Recognition Program Operations for the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) will be supporting the PCMH team as a Certified Content Expert. Her extensive experience will assist the UCF REC in its expansion of PCMH services to area practices and healthcare organizations.

EHNAC Appoints Five New Commissioners
The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC), a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body, announced the appointment of five new commissioners to assist in the management and control of the Commission. Joining a team of 13 existing EHNAC commissioners from both private and public organizations, the following five industry leaders will serve EHNAC through 2016:

Kate Berry, Chief Executive Officer, National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC);
Paul Calatayud, Chief Information Security Officer, Surescripts;
Jan Estep, President and CEO, NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association;
Edward Marsh, VP and Chief Technology Officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts; and
Robert Tennant, Senior Policy Advisor, Government Affairs Department, Medical Group Management Association (MGMA).

Former FDA Commissioner Andrew Von Eschenbach Joins Precision Health Economics Team
Health economics and policy authority Precision Health Economics (PHE) announced the addition of two nationally esteemed figures: former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, MD, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury Wesley Yin, PhD. The two join the rapidly growing consultancy of elite thought leaders at PHE focused on the critical issues in health and healthcare delivery: objective determination of value and measureable improvement in patient outcomes.

CMS Names New CIO and COO
Acting CIO David Nelson has been formally named as the new CMS CIO. Nelson became Acting CIO when Tony Trenkle departed last November. Tim Love also the current COO after Michelle Snyder retired at the end of 2013 has been formally named CMS COO. Love has been the deputy COO for the past two years.

See previously reported hires and appointments on the next pages.